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Barrayaran Laws
Laws on Barrayar made for an interesting collection; they were not static - some were modern and others dated to their Time of Isolation. Some came to be overruled at later times, such as one that allowed divorce in the case where a spouse was known to have Cetagandan ancestry.Captain Vorpatril's Alliance chapter 12 Two particularly distinguishing features of Barrayaran law were its preference for spirit over precedence, and the high importance it gave to voice oaths. Various and sundry laws on Barrayar Counts *Only one of the Emperor’s designated officers or a Count or a Count’s heir could swear a vassal.The Warrior's Apprentice chapter 9 *The right to petition one’s count directly was not universal – one way to get it was to have one’s father die in military service."The Mountains of Mourning" *Attempted assassination on one’s Count’s heir carried the same capital charge of treason as an attempt upon the Count himself."The Mountains of Mourning" *Counts could only have 20 Armsmen; no standing armies permitted - Vorloupulous’s LawThe Warrior's Apprentice chapter 6. *“To receive an Armsman’s oath before one was confirmed as a Count or Count’s heir was a serious crime, a violation of one of the subclauses of Vorloupulous’s Law.”''A Civil Campaign'' chapter 8 *To arrest a ruling District Count required an Imperial order.Barrayar chapter 11 *At least one non-Vor was named heir to a District Count (Lord Midnight).Mirror Dance chapter 14''A Civil Campaign'' chapters 2,14 *A Count’s acknowledged female bastards (particularly Imperial and count-palatine ones) were entitled to a dowry.A Civil Campaign chapter 5 *A Countess was by law and tradition something of an assistant Count.Diplomatic Immunity chapter 7 *A Count who wished to disinherit an official heir required an Imperial order. He could not disinherit his heir’s heir.Barrayar chapter 10 *“Count’s choice before Count’s blood, unless the Count has neglected to make a choice. Only then does male primogeniture come into play.”''A Civil Campaign'' chapter 6 *Public buildings (offices, schoolrooms) were required to display portraits of the Emperor and the District Count.Memory chapter 11 Vor *Arresting a Vor who wasn’t a ruling Count was handled at ordinary police levels.A Civil Campaign chapter 19 *After divorce or widowing (or orphaning), custody of boys went to the father's family while that of girls went to the mother's family.Komarr chapter 16''A Civil Campaign'' chapter 5 *A Vor mother of a boy who wished to challenge the official legal guardian from the father’s family for custody of the son had to take suit to the guardian’s District court to prove the man unworthy and unfit to have charge of the child.A Civil Campaign chapter 5 *Vor could own private swords, hunting weapons, stunners. Non-Vor could not own swords.Barrayar chapter 2 *Non-military Vor could not own nerve-disruptors.Komarr chapter 19 Armsmen *Retired Armsmen didn’t generally have to agree to become unretired. However, in the heat of battle, a Vor lord might invoke “certain archaic loyalty oaths” to unretire an armsman.Memory chapter 8 *There was no rule that said a woman couldn’t be a sworn armsman; it just had never been done before Mark Vorkosigan swore Elena Bothari-Jesek.Mirror Dance chapter 18 *A liege-sworn vassal who wished to retire had to petition their lord for release as an “Extraordinary Favor.”''Memory'' chapter 2 Miscellaneous *Age of maturity was 20.Barrayar chapter 19 *Military law was unclear on just how long someone could be held "on suspicion".Memory chapter 24 *Large degrees of genetic manipulation was “wildly illegal on all three planets of Barrayaran Imperium.”''Captain Vorpatril's Alliance'' chapter 2 *Slavery was illegal on all three planets of Barrayaran Imperium.Captain Vorpatril's Alliance chapter 2 *In at least some circumstances, fast-penta’ing a wife for ImpSec interrogations required permission from the husband.Captain Vorpatril's Alliance chapter 7 *A person could not be legally married to more than one other person.Barrayar chapter 17''Captain Vorpatril's Alliance'' chapter 13 *There was no known ruling regarding the status of a voice-oath when someone was in cryo-statis: “Your word can’t be your breath when you don’t have any breath, after all.”''Mirror Dance'' chapter 18 *Only three uses of parchment existed: Imperial edicts, originals of edicts from Council of Counts or of Ministers, and orders from Council of Counts to its members.The Warrior's Apprentice chapter 18 Capital Punishment on Barrayar *Quartering – for desertion in heat of battle.The Warrior's Apprentice chapter 6''Diplomatic Immunity'' chapter 5 *Public exposure and starvation – for treason committed by a Vor.Shards of Honor chapter 5''The Warrior's Apprentice'' chapter 6 *Beheading – for dueling''Barrayar'' chapter 8 and for armsman disobeying a liege-lord in combat.The Warrior's Apprentice chapter 5 *Hanging – for various offenses, including impersonating a military officer.The Vor Game chapter 13''Mirror Dance'' chapter 11 *Unstated means of execution – for impersonating an Imperial Auditor and for attempting to bribe an Imperial Auditor.Memory chapter 16''A Civil Campaign'' chapter 12 *Unstated means of execution – for attempting to assassinate one's Count or Count's heir "The Mountains of Mourning" Some Non-laws *Rule 27B: "Never make key tactical decisions while having electro-convulsive seizures."The Vor Game chapter 10 *Rules 2, 9, 11, 13: Various and sundry social rules determining which Barrayarans could have conversations about what types of sexual behavior under what circumstances.Barrayar chapter 4 Notes and references Category:Barrayaran Government